The crow had no chance to make it past the window. Yet, he spent more than ten minutes fluttering about the grill hoping to somehow pinch a snack. Meanwhile, I wondered when would the occupant find something dirty and use the cloth intruding upon my view. Short of patience, I commanded the universe (as advised … Continue reading A Morning IN BallygungE
Viral Beauty
We're a part of this great nature consciousness and not above it. The Corona Virus is just a force attempting balance. It does not treat us as an enemy–on the contrary, it cannot survive without us. It has not come to destroy us; It is doing its job to help us evolve. If it hadn't caused so many deaths, we would have ignored it and continued our wanton ways. It has woken us.
PHOTOLOGUE
Musings with the inner and the outer. I strain. Only for a while. Things. Upright. On the floor. Spreading. Snakes and ghosts. Funny. Invisible visible. Comforting mysteries. Call the unresolved by any name. Then they appear. The buzzed, just awakened, beginning their day. Crooked faces at the end of twitching stalks. What are you doing … Continue reading PHOTOLOGUE
Eight Feet Vacation
The window opened. Our eager souls took to flight. Destination–soaring land, forest, grass, pine, a clear sky. Unburdened of fears–Rain, traffic, landslide–we surged for old friends and new ones without an umbrella. Our shadow is not the absence of light. It is our light. Makes memories for the world. Our minds carry the light of … Continue reading Eight Feet Vacation
After the Memory
“Whenever I came here in the 1980s or 1990s, Dhyan Singh would make it a point to visit me…” my uncle said. “Dhyan Singh, who?” “The famous dacoit Dhyan Singh!… You don’t know about Dhyan Singh?” “No idea…” “He had twenty-two murders on his head and a bounty of 50,000 on him those days…” “Really, … Continue reading After the Memory
End of the Marigold
Time moves, leaving nothing behind; a heartless caravan on an endless journey. Our offerings decay at the altar while we wear our slippers outside. Is that how Time consummates? Is rot its only offspring? How can it be? Time promises more if we let go. But this is the world of attachments. And how long … Continue reading End of the Marigold
Benares: Paradise Paradox.
Look carefully at the picture above. Deejay CJ is shooting lights in the sky, playing woofer-busting electronic dance music. And barely a few feet from his dance floor, to the right, four funeral pyres are crackling away, torching flesh into its elements. If India is crazy, Benares is madness. If the Universe has a symptom, … Continue reading Benares: Paradise Paradox.
Letting Come and Letting Go
"Smoogy, what is the biggest illusion in this world?" "You tell me," he flipped the question back. "Some say the biggest illusion is innocence. I believe it is unconditional love." He withheld his opinion for a few seconds. The ideas appealed to him, but he had a different take. "Both arguments are sound but the … Continue reading Letting Come and Letting Go
You don’t get what you don’t see.
Goin' home, late last night Suddenly I got a fright Yeah I looked through a window and surprised what I saw A fairy with boots and dancin' with a dwarf, All right now! Yeah, fairies wear boots and you gotta believe me Yeah I saw it, I saw it, I tell you no lies Yeah … Continue reading You don’t get what you don’t see.
The Outsider
One of most difficult questions I've been asked is 'Where are you from?'. I'm from nowhere. Never had a chance to crawl in a particular soil for too long. My tentacles couldn't absorb nutrients of a culture. I don't recollect a festival being 'celebrated' at home. Diwali was for crackers and holi was fun with … Continue reading The Outsider
Prateek's World 